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Cherry
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Last Login: 9/29/2008 6:39 AM
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| Sorry about the goofed up message before- I'm new to this computer thing. I'm hoping to find some info. on my Dad. He was in the Pacific campaign, and was wounded in the ankle.His name was Roy E. Wilson.The island he was on at that time was re-taken by the Japanese before our forces took and kept it.He was a short guy,hazel eyes. He was from Georgia, near the Tennessee line.Any info you guys might have would be much appreciated.VETRECS said they lost their records in a fire in '73.
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Site Owner/Operator
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| What service, unit? Do you know what he did as a job? Was he infantry, supply etc? Sorry to be a pain but it was a big war and there would be no way to help out at all unless we narrow the field down quite a bit.
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Stare Master
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| First, there is no reason to open a new topic each time you make a post. Hit the reply button on the topic already started. Second, there are not many WWII vets on bulletin boards, this one or any other, so the chances of finding someone on the internet that knew him personally is slim. However, there are many of us who have read quite a bit about WWII and may be able to give you an idea of the battles his unit was in and books you can read on the subject. We may also be able to locate unit organizations with WWII vets who may have known him personally. But as Rigger said we need to know some details about the unit. I assume that posting it here means you have reason to believe he was a Paratrooper. Was he in the Marines or the Army? Do you have any type of designation for his unit? While it may not make sense to you it might to us. Any information on where he trained and where he served might also help. We are willing to help but we need information related to his unit and not him personally in order to help.
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American GI. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
"History teaches that when you become indifferent and lose the will to fight someone who has the will to fight will take over." COLONEL BULL SIMONS
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Paratrooper
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May as well give it to you straight. You must have "specifics" of his Service. Without it, you have no chance. Those are the cold hard facts. Good Luck
RJ 
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HH6/Resident Beerwench
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Best of luck trying to find information on your dad. God Bless him for his service to our country.
- "Hundreds of thousands of American servicemen and women are deployed across the world in the war on terror. By bringing hope to the oppressed, and delivering justice to the violent, they are making America more secure. "
George W. Bush
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Cherry
Group: Registered User
Last Login: 9/29/2008 6:39 AM
Posts: 6,
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| Sorry again about lack of details.Part of my messages I tried to send were lost due to incompetence on my part. My Dad was in the Army Air Corp back when it all began.He once talked to a neighbor about landing in a crossfire,and having to wait until advancing forces could be seen to know which way to fight.On the jump where he was wounded,the Japanese either kept or re-took the island.He was in and out of consciousness due to loss of blood.I overheard that they drug him from his hiding spot and smashed his nabs with a rifle butt to see if he was still alive. He said that luckily,he passed out from the pain and lack of blood,and they left him alone. Initially,medics told him that he would lose his leg.They put him on hold to care for others more critical,and he prayed all night that his leg might be saved.The next morning,they told him he lucked out and they sent him to a(field?) hospital where surgeon were able to repair damages.He was a hell of a good guy,and I'd hate for his memory to vanish from this family when this generation passes.I know it's a slim chance-looking for a needle in a stack of needles,but you guys are accustomed to low odds.I was able to find about five soldiers of same name in government archives,and have started the process of requesting info. on them. Please knock the name around-Roy E. Wilson(Bud)_maybe it will be familiar to someoneThank you for your patience with me and the encouragement thus far.May the sun be always at your back and the wind on your face!
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Stare Master
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Did he transfer to the Airborne or was he in the Air Corps when and shot down? If he was in the Air Corps and was shot down contacting Airborne veterans organizations isn't going to help any. I'm sorry, but the details you are giving us aren't really helpful at all. We need details on the unit he was in when he jumped. Do you have any of his paperwork from when he served(awards citations, promotions, etc.) or when he was discharged that might show what unit(s) he served with and what awards he received?
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American GI. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
"History teaches that when you become indifferent and lose the will to fight someone who has the will to fight will take over." COLONEL BULL SIMONS
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Hard Charger
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If your fathers service was the U.S. Army Air Corps it’d be more likely you’ll find information about him at Air Corps websites.
http://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib5a.htm
http://personal.trxinc.com/dpixler/
Also the Army Air Corps (USAAC) transformed to the Army Air Force (USAAF) in 1941 which existed until 1947. The Army Air Corps became the combatant arm of the USAAF.
http://www.armyairforces.com/
http://www.aafha.org/
You might look into the 5th Air Force that was in the Pacific theater, possibly the 7th, which received arriving forces Hawaii, the 10th which flew India, Burma and China (CBI), the 11th (Alaska Air Force). The 13th Air Force might be a good bet it was activated in New Caledonia, and was called the “Jungle Air Force” because it was all over the Pacific. They operated 1943-1945 and participated in many of the campaigns in the Pacific. The 14th was in the China Burma and India (CBI) Theater. The 20th was also CBI Theater and dropped the bombs on Japan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Air_Forces
You may have still have some luck investigating this at N.A.R.A.since your father was hospitalized.
Medical-Related Alternate Records. In 1988, a collection of computer tapes containing ten million hospital/treatment facility admission records was transferred to NPRC (MPR). These records, originally created by the U.S. Army Surgeon General's Office (SGO), were discovered by the National Academy of Sciences and offered to the National Archives for use by NPRC (MPR). The source records existed in a computer code format and required extensive analysis to interpret the code into English. Between 1988-1990, NPRC (MPR) was able to salvage 7.8 million records of individual admissions for use as a major supplement to other smaller sources of medical information.
The subjects of the records were active duty Army and Army Air Corps personnel in service between 1942 to 1945. In addition, active duty Army personnel who served between 1950 and 1954 and a limited number of Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and military cadet personnel for the same period (about 5% of the 1950-54 file) are included.
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/alternate-record-sources.html
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html#letter
This is an incomplete but online book about the USAAF Pacific.
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/IV/index.html
And...
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wwii/combatp.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_West_Pacific_Area
After all that, if he was in the Army Airborne as you say he jumped there may be a different search. Did he jump from an aircraft as a member of the United States Army Air Force, or from an aircraft as a member of the United States Army ground forces with an Airborne unit.
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